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Video calls

By admin on May 28, 2014

Although XMPP is mainly about text communication or automated presence data broadcasts, it can be extended to be so much more.
There are hundreds of extensions to basic RFCs and some of them define more than text communication. Perhaps the most advanced are Jingle extensions which allow for file transfer as well as Audio/Video communication. Jingle provides a component that allows XMPP to transfer voice, video, and even synchronization of media.

However, there are a few interesting use-cases where the XMPP is not used as a standard chat system with Audio/Video as addition. In these cases, Audio/Video calls are the primary function and there may be no text communication involved at all. Presence status is used heavily in conjunction, however. A great example is a small device which you can put on top of your TV. The device has a camera and microphone built-in. It connects to the TV to display video and transfer audio. This device can communicate either over Wi-Fi or Ethernet and uses XMPP to connect to a central server. From there it can communicate with other set-top boxes and begin a video or voice call chat session all from the comfort of your couch.

As you can guess, this is a pure Audio/Video call device, using XMPP and TV as a display. It allows anybody to make video calls. A person does not need to be tech savvy, or have access to a powerful computer with a microphone and camera setup. The whole unit can be controlled using 4-button remote from your couch. This is but one example of how XMPP can be extended far beyond just the trappings of a text communication platform.